I was born in San Francisco and lived in the Bay area as a child until I went to school in a small town called Sebastopol in Sonoma County. Then my mother and I moved back to the Midwest where she was from when I was young (Northern Illinois). I was fortunate to travel back to California to visit my father and aunt on school breaks. I also took a few trips back with my dad that taught me the "creative art" of travel. Who would have ever known you could return rental cars half-way across the country for free (and that's how we did it)? I spent some vacations as a babysitter for my kid ... full info